Category Archives: Park

City installs pet waste signs at entrances to Hidden Valley Park

At our last VPTA board meeting, we discussed whether the Association should pay to have the City of Northfield install one or more pet waste stations (example here) along the trail in Hidden Valley Park.  The Board decided that a … Continue reading

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Spring cleanup around Hidden Valley Park

 Last Friday, Jerry Krause joined me and Robbie for a trash pick-up activity around Hidden Valley Park. We got done in less than an hour. Saaaaweeeeet!

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City Parks Department cuts down the noxious trees

  I’m not sure when it happened exactly but some time in the past few weeks, a crew from the City of Northfield Streets, Parks & Facilities Divisions mowed down all the noxious trees at the south end of the pond … Continue reading

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Pond dredging not scheduled for 5-7 years

It turns out that it’ll be a few years before Hidden Valley Pond is dredged. Here’s the email from Brian Welch, Engineering Resources Manager for the City of Northfield: Mr. Wigley, We plan to dredge the pond just east of … Continue reading

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Pond cleanup project to begin this fall

The city is planning on implementing the maintenance of the storm ponds this fall.  Luckily for us, Valley Pond is on the list of the first to be addressed.  A utility fee was assessed two years ago designed in part … Continue reading

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Photos: Harvest moon over Valley Pond

  

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Photos: heavy rains fill the pond

Several inches of rain in the past two days have filled Hidden Valley Pond to the highest we’ve ever seen it… to the top of the stormwater pipe.    

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Goodbye to the Willow tree

   With permission from the City of Northfield, a group of local lumberjacks took down the decaying Willow tree at the foot of the stormwater pipe at the southwest corner of the pond this week.

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Photos: Barr Engineering surveyor

As Robbie wrote back in June, The City has contracted with Barr Engineering to help the city develop a prioritization of stormwater ponds in need to dredging and other rehabilitation work to improve management of surface runoff. A guy from … Continue reading

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City to conduct assessment of Hidden Valley Pond this week

Brian Welch, GIS Technician for the City of Northfield, has this update in Northfield City Administrator Joel Walinski’s June 25 Friday Memo: Stormwater Pond Rehabilitation Assessment The City has contracted with Barr Engineering to help the city develop a prioritization … Continue reading

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Getting rid of Bird’s foot trefoil

Last Thursday, I noticed a crew of three workers walking around the pond spraying. I chatted with one who said they were from Prairie Restorations, under contract with the City of Northfield. They were killing Bird’s foot trefoil, described on … Continue reading

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Our pond is alive with the sound of music

The rains have been plentiful this spring and thus making the frogs around the pond in the middle of Hidden Valley Park very happy.   I captured their music while sitting in front of our backyard fireplace last week and again … Continue reading

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Storm Water Ponds! Could this be us?

The Star and Tribune  has long article in today’s paper that some metro areas have storm-water ponds that are chemical soups of pesticides, fertilizers, pet wastes, oil, grease and other contaminants.  Driveway sealants play a big part in this contamination.  … Continue reading

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Photo album: spring burn

I woke up from my nap to the smell of smoke this afternoon. A crew hired by the City of Northfield was doing a controlled burn of Hidden Valley Park. See the album of 16 photos (8 fire, 8 post-fire), … Continue reading

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Cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding around Hidden Valley Pond

    People cross country ski around the perimeter of Hidden Valley Pond each winter. And kids go sledding on the hill on the north side. But this year, with all the snow we’ve had, there have been people snowshoeing, … Continue reading

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